Teachers: the objective of this lesson is to increase the student's awareness of first century conversion issues. Bible students need an awareness that conversion issues and questions for a Jew considering accepting Jesus as the Christ and conversion issues and questions for the person in idolatry considering accepting Jesus as the Savior were not the same questions and issues. While both groups were challenged to see Jesus' death and resurrection as an act of God, their concepts of deity were quite different. The Jews were focused on their concept of the Messiah. Could Jesus be that Messiah? Those who worshipped idols focused on their concepts of deity. Could Jesus be sent by God? If so, who was this God? The Jews knew God's identity. Those worshipping idols did not.
Understanding the concept of "conversion" is truly a "then" and "now" consideration. ["Then" was in the first century and "now" is today.] When we assume "conversion" is a simple process with "now's" concerns being the same concerns that existed almost 2000 years ago, our assumption will deceive us. "Conversion's" issues should be similar. "Conversion's" objectives should be similar. However, our "conversion" concerns and their "conversion" concerns are not the same. Too often first century "conversion" concerns and today's "conversion" concerns are not God's "conversion" concerns. The concept of "conversion" must come from God, not us.
Common conversion questions occurring in the first century and common conversion questions occurring in the U.S.A. today are unlikely to be the same questions, especially in our "Bible belt." In America's "Bible belt" [and perhaps more widespread than that] the common assumption has been that everyone knows who Jesus is and accepts him as the Christ. Any place that adopts that view shifts the focus of conversion to other issues and questions. The purpose of conversion ceases to be creating faith in Jesus, his crucifixion, and his resurrection.
Remember prior to Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, Christians did not exist. Christianity existed from Acts 2 forward when the resurrected Jesus was presented and accepted as Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36-42). The Christian individual and Christian community [the church] exists in fulfillment of God's intent and promise. God set His intent and promise in motion with Abraham in God's assurance to him that through him all nations would receive a blessing (Genesis 12:3).
Among Christians, there is too little awareness of God's work and unfolding plan to bring Jesus to the world and make him the Christ through death and resurrection. This was a revolutionary understanding and insight in the first century. It was the "hidden mystery" that was revealed. [Read Colossians 1:24-29 and Ephesians 3:4-7.] To many Christians today, there is no "mystery" that is revealed. To many Christians today, God's plan and work "are obvious." Conversion has too little to do with the concept of the "Christ" and the "mystery." Conversion has to do with human reactions to current theological concerns. Conversion often concerns current "church issues," not eternal "Christ issues."
Israel's primary purpose before Jesus' crucifixion was to allow God to work through that nation to bring all people the blessing of the Messiah [the Christ]. The Messiah would make God's blessing [salvation] available to all nations, not just Israel. Israel was God's means of bringing the Messiah. The Israel of Bible times [both before and after Jesus] did not see themselves as God's vehicle. They thought their long-standing relationship with God made them special. [This attitude can be seen in Romans 3:1.] Israel felt they had an "advantage" and circumcision produced unique "benefits." To them, merely being the vehicle through whom God worked did not and could not declare their significance.
Because of promises made to Abraham, God formed and used Israel to bring salvation in Christ to the world. Many in Israel could not see the blessings and opportunity created by God's selection. They viewed the declaration of God's interest in the salvation of the world as a "put down" [a demeaning suggestion] of the nation of Israel. To many Jews, if God used Jesus to be the Christ, Israel was the loser.
For Israelites in the New Testament, "conversion" involved incredible changes. The converted Israelite changed his concepts in fundamental ways. He or she changed his or her concept of:
God's love and concern for those who were not Israelites
The Messiah
The Messiah's mission
God's family [God's community; God's church]
The meaning of righteousness
His [or her] concept of forgiveness
Consider using this list as examples of ways in which Jewish converts must learn to think completely different thoughts and understandings--about the will of God, about the purpose of Israel, about themselves, about life. Note it is extremely difficult for adults to learn to think in new ways.
Those are enormous changes! They do not occur instantly. They require time, growth, and maturing. They begin with this life transforming realization: Jesus is the Christ; the fulfillment of God's promise to Israel; God's accomplished intent that began the moment evil entered human reality.
The foundation understanding for new thinking was this: Jesus is the Christ. Understanding that truth and placing faith in it would not instantly change all of a person's understanding and realizations. However, it was the essential beginning point.
These changes required a new understanding of "who I am" and "what my needs are." The converted Israelite saw Israel as God's means of bringing Jesus to the world. He or she saw God's love for all people. He or she understood the Messiah had a much greater purpose than liberating the nation of Israel from domination and oppression. He or she understood atonement, redemption, sanctification, and forgiveness in terms of Jesus' death instead of the death of an animal. Jesus' cross and the resurrection changed everything!
Conversion was a truly personal experience. When a person accepted Jesus as the Christ, that understanding began changing his or her thoughts and ways of using life.
All these changes began with the understanding that Jesus was the Christ. They often involved struggle [frequently revealed in the New Testament's epistles]. For many Israelites, "conversion's" transition was demanding and traumatic. Accepting Jesus as the Christ was not simple for the Jew!
Help students realize that conversion was neither easy nor simple for Jewish people.
To first century Israelites, "conversion" required accepting Jesus as God's promised Messiah. "Conversion" meant a redefinition of God's people. "Conversion's" basic issue was this: is Jesus the Christ? Faith in Jesus as the Christ was not merely accepting a fact. It was faith in a truth that redefined self, Israel's purpose, and relationship with God.
The fundamental issue to the Jews was this: is Jesus the Christ? Never had they envisioned God using death to produce the Messiah. It was unthinkable that God would use death in such an undesirable, degrading, humiliating manner. Never had they envisioned God using resurrection to affirm, announce, and present the Christ. To many, those were unthinkable considerations.
Today Christians are more likely to be familiar with first century Jewish "conversion" issues than "conversion" issues facing people who were not Jews. Before the close of the first century, the majority of Christians were not Jewish. Remember, if you exclude the Godfearers and the proselytes, other Christians who were not Jews knew little or nothing about:
Israel's history
Significant Israelite people in past ages
God's redemptive work through Israel
The Jewish concepts of the Messiah
Jewish scriptures
Jewish prophets
In our Bible study, we emphasized the role Israel played in God's work and plan to bring Jesus to the world and make him the Christ. That is appropriate and correct. Because of that emphasis, we tend to be familiar with Jewish issues and questions [though most of us are not Jewish]. However, we tend to be unfamiliar with issues and questions that were not Jewish. Most of the New Testament material addressed to Christians was written to Christians who were not Jews. Many Christians of today have not considered the truth that the issues and questions of these Christians were not Jewish. Use the above list to awaken students to the fact that many converts were completely unaware of Jewish issues and questions [unless those issues and questions invaded their congregations].
"Conversion" issues for Jewish people and "conversion" issues for these people were not the same issues. These people viewed the world, life, spirituality, religious responsibility, worship, civic responsibility, and social responsibility through an idolatrous background. Their questions about Jesus being the Christ were different from Jewish questions. Jewish questions focused on their concepts of the Messiah. These people's questions focused on resurrection and deity.
People who were not Jews viewed life, the world, and spiritual matters from perspectives that stood in contrast with Jewish views and concerns. While the Jews were concerned about Jesus fitting their concept of the Messiah, these people were concerned about Jesus fitting their concept of deity.
For these people to accept Jesus as the crucified and resurrected one sent by God, they had to change their concepts of deity, life, existence, the way the world functioned, and human response to deity. Their understandings of the gods were significant factors in those concepts. Accepting Jesus as Savior often meant changing basic understandings of moral behavior, ethical responsibility, and the "rights and wrongs" of daily life. Christianity commonly expanded Jewish understandings of morals and ethics. Christianity commonly transformed the understandings of morals and ethics of people converted from idolatry. For example, expectations concerning sexual conduct in Judaism and Christianity were similar. Expectations concerning sexual conduct held by some forms of idolatry distinctly differed from Christianity.
The changes required in thinking and understanding were just as complete and dramatic for the convert who was not a Jew as they were for the convert who was a Jew. The thoughts and understandings of both groups differed, but the need to change thoughts and understanding was demanding for each group.
At the core of first century "conversion" were these understandings: God sent Jesus to be the Christ. Jesus' crucifixion atoned for human sin and made divine forgiveness possible. Jesus' resurrection assures life with God after death to all who place their obedient trust in Jesus.
For everyone, conversion ultimately focused on faith [life-altering trust] in Jesus as the Christ which included trusting God's work in crucifixion and resurrection.
Thought Questions:
Some focal points of change if, as a Jew, you accepted Jesus as the Christ: the temple and its use; the priesthood, high priest, and their purposes; the sacrificial system; common methods of worship; common understanding of Israel's relationship with God; common approaches to daily life [the prayer system, the handwashing, the distinctions of clean and unclean, the business vows system; etc.]; the concept of atonement; the avenue of forgiveness; the meaning of being sanctified or holy.
Some focal points of change if, as a person who worshipped idols, you accepted Jesus as the Christ, the Savior: their belief that there were many gods; their concept of worshipping only one God; their purpose of worship [appeasing the gods versus gratitude to God]; the place of the temples dedicated to various gods; the role of a respectful citizen/member of society concerning sacrifices in temples dedicated to the Roman Caesar; the social demands and pressures of sacrifices to the patron gods of work guilds or a city.
Link to Student Guide
Quarter 2, Lesson 11